Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Commissioning
Design/Build Projects
By Stephen C. Turner, P.E., Member ASHRAE; Mark Hogil Jung; Seung Hwan Hwang
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To better calibrate the commissioning design review process to the design/build delivery method, it is useful to review
the logic behind the approach to commissioning design review
for design/bid/build projects. Then, an improved commissioning design review process can be developed that better suits
design/build projects. Several other stages of the Cx process
can be similarly evaluated and optimized to suit design/build
projects.
ASHRAE Journal
Cost
Savings
Cost to Change
Potential Synergies
and Savings
Programming Schematic
Design
Construction
Design Development
Time
Occupancy
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Ability
To Change
Commissioning Specifications
On design/build projects, commissioning firms are presented with a unique opportunity to influence the participation of
the design team in the commissioning process with bridging
document content. In the authors practice, commissioning
specifications for design/bid/build projects are limited to performance and quality requirements for the general contractor
or construction manager and the tier, trade, or subcontractors.
Content regarding owner or designer participation in commissioning has, for several years, been provided to clients only in
the commissioning plan, since discussing the architects role
in commissioning is wildly out of place in specifications for
design/bid/build projects.
Design/build projects, however, are entirely different. The
bridging documents can appropriately include detailed requirements that extend to the performance of the entire design/build team, including the designers.
On a recent design/build project targeting LEED Silver under NC-2009, the following language was issued as part of the
bridging documents:
A. This renovation is a design/build project. The commissioning requirements after the award of the design/
build contract for the design professionals of record for
commissioned systems include:
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Design Review
Planning commissioning design reviews so that they occur
at the appropriate phase of design is complicated by the design/build approach, since design is occurring well into the
construction phase. Since the bridging documents set the bar
for the quality that the design/build team will have to deliver,
commissioning review is very important. On a recent simple
dormitory project, a small, fast track LEED-NC 2009 project
with simple MEP systems, the second design review was coordinated with the design/build team to occur near the end of
coordination when the MEP design was locked down. This
was effective because the design of the commissioned systems
were all completed around the same time.
ASHRAE Journal
Submittal Review
The commissioning authority will often have to perform
submittal review in phases over an extended period of time
on design/build projects. This is particularly true when different aspects of the design are completed early on, while other
aspects of design are still in flux. In some cases, it may be
appropriate to insist on waiting to perform commissioning
review if related submittals have not yet been received. For
example, controls product submittals are rarely reviewed prior
to receipt of the controls engineering plans, since it is typically infeasible to review the product submittals without the
controls plans in hand.
Design/build bridging documents should clearly require a
formal submittal review process. On projects without this, dea s h r a e . o r g
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sign/build teams have avoided or delayed producing submittal documents since the design team is no longer a separate
contractual entity from the contractors team. Commissioning
contributions to bridging documents can include language
requiring a formal submittal process. This language can formally require an owners submittal review process that incorporates the commissioning review comments. With the owner
as the formal conduit for the commissioning comments, the
contractual relationship between the owner and the design/
build team can increase the influence of the commissioning
authority.
Pre-Functional Checklists
When submittals are phased over a longer period of time,
this typically requires a phased approach to developing prefunctional checklists (PFCs). Instead of a short period of time
during which all submittals are provided and reviewed by
the design team and others, as is typical for design/bid/build,
submittals for various work packages may be approved over
a long period of time, as design work is completed in phases
for different aspects or areas of the design/build project. Since
the final submittals are not available in one discrete set, they
are not available for a single effort to produce PFCs, requiring
the Cx firm to produce batches of PFCs as submittals are approved by the architect or engineer of record.
When this occurs on design/build projects, the equipment
delivery and installation will probably also be spread over a
longer period of time, and contractors will also have to participate in a phased approach to PFC completion. Commissioning specifications that link the development of PFCs to
the completion of approved submittals, and make it clear that
PFCs are to be completed by contractors on a timely basis as
the associated work is performed, can make PFC requirements
clear to contractors. The authors recommend this approach to
specifying PFC completion on all projects whether design/
build or not, but we have found that this language can be helpful and even critical on design/build projects.
Conclusion
The improvements discussed in this article, and illustrated
in the case study, enhance the commissioning process for design/build projects, and help address potential risks unique
to, or heightened by, the design/build delivery method. The
resulting commissioning process is better suited to such projects. Not only can it improve commissioning outcomes, it can
help control the costs of providing commissioning, as well as
leading to enhanced building performance for owners.
References
1. Design-Build Institute of America. 2011. Design-Build Project Delivery Used for More Than 40 Percent of Non-Residential
Construction Projects, Report Shows. www.dbia.org/pubs/research/
rsmeans110606.htm.
2. ASHRAE Guideline 0-2005, The Commissioning Process.
3. Mills, et al. 2004. The Cost-Effectiveness of CommercialBuildings Commissioning. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
4. High Performance Schools Exchange. 2009. NE-CHPS New
Construction and Major Renovations. www.chps.net/content/035/
NE-CHPS_2_FINAL.pdf.
5. USGBC. 2009. LEED Reference Guide for Green Building Design
and Construction.
6. Zimmerman, A. Integrated Design Process Guide. Canada
Mortgage and Housing Corporation. http://tinyurl.com/8znztzj.
A S H R A E J o u r n a l
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